New Working Environment

[rockeye_stonetoe]

It's an average day. Nick the fairy is poking at one of his little electronics projects, paying attention to the incoming summons with half a brain, trying to grab one. But while a lot of fairies get summoned, equally many are looking out for summons. It takes a while unless you're really focusing on it.

He starts an automated test and gives the stream of summons his full attention, and gets one a moment later.

Comments

[impetuous_force]

"I can get you an ethernet cable but that probably won't be compatible with your device. Yeah, go ahead and name things."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Ethernet, that's a starting point. And yeah, it won't be."

He names things. Most of them are things Bella has never heard of. After only a couple of minutes he stops. "Right, that's good enough to be getting on with, food and the room now?"

[impetuous_force]

"Sure." She shows him to a row of holding cells, all currently empty, and opens one up and props it open. It's not particularly oppressive as cells go. Roomy, contains a bench and a table built into the wall. No window and the light all comes in through the glass from the hall. There are scratch marks on the floor.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Those marks from a vampire?"

[impetuous_force]

"Nah, something else, vampires don't so much with the claws. Anything I should know about when lunching you?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I like meat, preferably not fried, but beggars aren't choosers... Sorry I got you recruited. It was clearly the best course of action, but it still metaphorically bites."

[impetuous_force]

"It went better than I expected, actually, she said 'and you still have to go to school' and I was like 'ugh' and she was like 'is the problem that it's boring or that you don't like educating yourself' and I said 'first thing, what, can I just do college courses instead' so now I'm doing that. I haven't told my parents yet though."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Well. Good luck, if it's relevant, I don't know about parents."

[impetuous_force]

"Fairies don't have 'em?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Nope, we just start existing in adult shape with, hm, basic skills like recognizing things and eating and moving hardcoded."

[impetuous_force]

"Speaking of eating, I'll be back in ten with your lunch, please don't suddenly turn evil or anything." Off she goes in her stompy boots.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Thanks."

Nick has a computer. He floats the tablet comfortably in front of him and computes. Complicated-looking diagrams are involved.

[impetuous_force]

Bella's back in a little under ten minutes with two trays. She has gotten them both grilled chicken and a heap of potatoes and broccoli in some sort of sauce and sugar cookies, and coffee for him and water for her.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Aha, caffeine, the precious." He floats his tray in front of him rather than use the table, and also declines to use utensils.

[impetuous_force]

She watches the chicken disassemble itself in fascination. "So what are you doing right now?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I'm moving two small layers of the chicken slightly parallel and opposite from each other. It doesn't go down to the molecular level, but it's better than any knife."

[impetuous_force]

"Huh. And what've you got going on with your tablet? It didn't sound like you were expecting to be transported to a low-tech world full of hostile demons so you must have to work with whatever was already on it..."

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Yeah, but I'm a bit of a tinker, which helps. If I can't swing it with just what's on me I was planning to write out a summoning diagram geared to get me and only me, and gather some stuff from my workshop, download a library or two, buy a few esoteric tools I don't already have."

[impetuous_force]

"What do fairies use for currency?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"There's fiat currency in some places, but there's also plenty of barter, at least in my part of Fairyland. Things like salt, cloth, and steel are pretty fungible and weight's not really an issue. Postal service workers get paid with prioritized imports from, well, the word in this language is Hell. The place where the 'makers' live."

[impetuous_force]

"Can you bring any amount of stuff back with you when dismissed?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"It's a bit fuzzy but, basically, stuff that is clearly in my direct control. A crate that I'm touching, yes. A car, if I had any reason to want one, probably not."

[impetuous_force]

"But if we supply you with steel or salt or cloth to cover expenses...?"

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Or other kinds of food. Coffee and tea are very valuable there and just don't keep indefinitely. But yes, I could buy a lot of fancy tech in Fairyland if repeatedly dismissed and resummoned. Possibly a simpler solution would be summoning and making a deal with a maker - but that's probably more risky, the ones that answer summons tend to be sadistic assholes."

[impetuous_force]

"Why's that?"